Psalm 37 is a Psalm of David. We know that this particular psalm is a poem that where each verse begins with the next letter of the Hebrew alphabet. There are 40 verses in this psalm. The beginning begins with an exhortation . This is a command or encouragement to act or think a certain way .

1 Fret not yourself because of evildoers;
be not envious of wrongdoers!

We are told Do not fret. Any time the Bible commands begin with “Do not” it is something we should avoid for our own good. We are better off not worrying and fretting. Even if there were no element of glorifying God, this behavior would help our lives to be better.

If we fast forward to Phillippians 4, we know God tells us “don’t be anxious about anything” Here in Psalm 37, he says to not fret or worry about evildoers in particular. To me, evildoers are a valid concern, and something worth worrying about, but God wants to remind us that He is in control of everything. Vengeance belongs to God. The verse continues Do not be envious of wrongdoers. There are plenty of people out there who don’t mind breaking or bending rules for their own benefit, and while we are still here on this Earth, we will see plenty of that happening. We will sometimes see that type of person prosper. God reminds us that envy, covetousness, or wanting something that he hasn’t given to us is prohibited. And that prohibition is also for our own good. God is glorified when we are satisfied in Him and him alone . When we see the things we have as a blessing from Him we honor him as a provider. When we ignore the things we DO have and see the things we DON’T have, and wonder why we don’t have them, we question God’s ability to provide, or we question His wisdom in not providing us something. But when we see things that we don’t have, it glorifies God to trust in Him, and recognize that those things are things that are not part of His plan for us. This characteristic is contentment, which is also found in Philppians 4.

2 For they will soon fade like the grass
and wither like the green herb.

Verse 2 begins to touch on the concept of the Temporary versus the Permanent. It explains that all the ill gotten gains of a wrongdoer are quite temporary. Not just the gains, but the wrongdoers and evildoers themselves are temporary, in the process of withering away like grass. Once we understand this, we know the idea that those types of people have anything worth envying is a lie. If the window on your car door breaks, do you want to replace it with a trash bag, or new glass? When we desire the prosperity of a wrongdoer, we are choosing the temporary fix. We desire the trash bag even though our window is not broken to begin with!

Psalm 37 reminds us that the things we think we want are often much less desirable than they seem. I don’t know how many times I have desired or yearned for something only to be disappointed by it when the time came to get it. I am a sucker for infomercials . I see a chain made by Mighty putty towing a truck, stopping a leak in a faucet and something in me wants it. Same with one of those food slicers, or skillets, or anything by Ron Popeil. Something stirs in my heart that makes me think my life will be drastically improved once I make two easy payments of $9.95 plus shipping and handling. I get so excited about a revolutionary kitchen appliance but sometimes feel a sense of obligation when it comes to serving God. Is that a sin? Of course. My body is weak, and my flesh battles against my spirit. And that’s just me watching a commercial on TV. I wasn’t looking to be a wrongdoer or an evildoer. I had no malicious intent. I didn’t go out and try to break a law.. What happens 6-8 weeks later? Maybe this box shows up and I use this new skillet a few times.. But to be honest, I am usually the most impressed before I start using it. Then when I try to cook something the reality sets in… My excitement is very short lived.

Well, the gains and prosperity that are found in wrongdoing is just like that. They are very temporary.
This Psalm helps to refocus our eyes on something permanent. But it takes trust, because we aren’t wired to understand Permanent. We focus on today, or this week, or this year. The forward thinkers focus on this life. And the really forward thinkers look to leaving an inheritance to their children or families. But Biblical permanence goes beyond anything that we can see on this earth. To gain the proper focus, we need to set our sights on Eternity. So far, I’ve only really discussed verses 1 and 2 in depth. To actually discuss this entire psalm would take a lot of time, but I am going to give you an overview of what to look for when you study it closer at home. Many of these themes repeat. But there are 4 major characters. First, there is the You, the reader. Second, there’s the wicked, or evildoers. Third, there’s the Lord. And Fourth, there are the righteous.

Psalm 37 talks about characteristics of the righteous versus characteristics of the wicked. Let’s start with the wicked. The wicked sometimes prosper but they do so using their own way. They follow their own devices.. They plot against the righteous, they gnash their teeth. The wicked draw swords and bows to bring down the poor and needy. They use violence and dishonesty to get their way. They borrow but do not repay. They seek to put to death the righteous. The ultimate end for the wicked? They are against the all powerful God. Verse 13 says God Laughs at them. They have no future, no rest. They will vanish. They will perish. They will be cut off.

What does Psalm 37 tell us about the righteous? Not as much as the wicked. We know they are meek and peaceful. They will inherit the land. Their mouths speak wisdom and God’s law is on their hearts. Verse 16 indicates they might not have as much as some of the wicked, but Verses 21 and 26 say that the righteous are generous and give and lend. They put their refuge and trust in the Lord and are upheld. They are preserved. The righteous don’t seem to have the ability to protect themselves, because their trust is in the LORD. They are dependent on God’s blessings. Chapter 22 tells us that “Those the LORD blesses will inherit the land” but chapter 29 says “the Righteous will inherit the land”. What we find out from the language is that the Righteous are only righteous because of God’s blessing. They are not righteous on their own. Verse 39 says that their salvation is not from themselves but from the Lord.
Let’s talk briefly about the other two characters in the Psalm. You, the reader, and God. Psalm 37 goes back and forth between how we should act when we see evil, and how we should act toward God. Throughout the passage, this Psalm tells us God’s response. Its important to examine God’s response towards various actions.

The responses we are called to display towards the evil we see are: Don’t Fret. Don’t Envy, Refrain from anger, turn from wrath
The ways we should act towards God: Trust in the Lord. Do Good. Take Delight in the Lord. Commit your way to the lord. Be still before the Lord. Wait Patiently for Him. Hope in the Lord. When we look at how we’re supposed to act towards evil and how we are supposed to act towards God, we realize that Psalm 37 tells us to act just like the righteous do.

How does the Lord respond?

Verse 3. when we trust in Him, God provides safe pasture. He gives us the shepherd imagery, bringing his flock into a land that’s safe and rich with clean water and green grass.

Verse 4. when we take delight in Him, God Gives us the desires of our heart. Sometimes you can read verse 4 and think, “Great. God will give me all the things that my heart desires” I was at a pyramid scheme presentation, and at these things, the presenter always starts by asking the audience what they want. Most people say exotic vacations, luxury cars, beach homes, businesses, yachts. None of these things are sinful in and of themselves, but if people think of God as a genie that delivers a wish list, their vision of God isn’t Biblical. Verse 4 is not quite like that. The first part of Verse 4 says we are called to delight in God. Then God needs to change our hearts and replace our Carnal or Fleshly desires with Spiritual ones. This is a topic we’ve discussed frequently, but it can be found in Romans 8. When we let go of our desires in our heart, God replaces them. He will give us new desires. Then, we put our trust in Him and see these new desires come to fruition.

Verse 7 is important, because it talks about a method, or attitude. The exhortation is to be still before God . Wait patiently for him. There are so many people out there that want to do things their way, on their timetables. I hear people say, “i want to trust in Him, but He works too slow, so I have to do things myself”. Psalm 37 says to slow down. Wait patiently. This patient waiting is not idleness. In your waiting, you continue to trust, in your waiting you continue to make the difficult choices and do things God’s way. In your waiting, You continue to be committed to God, but you are waiting for God’s provision. Our worship and study of God’s word need to be still and focused on Him.

Verse 6 says God will make our righteous reward shine like the dawn and our vindication bright like noonday sun. Other translations say God will bring forth our righteousness like the light and our justice like the noonday. What is important here is to understand that God brings forth our righteousness, not ourselves. We are not righteous ourselves, God gives us Righteousness. And as Christians, with the cross of Jesus Christ in mind, we know that Christ alone is our righteousness. He represents our Justice and our Righteousness at the same time. To be honest, we’ve all done and said and thought enough unlawful things to be correctly identified or categorized with the Wicked. But by taking all of our lawlessness and wickedness upon himself, Christ has freed us so we no longer are associated with the wicked in Psalm 37. He alone can become our salvation. Chapter 39 says that “The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord.” The deliverance that is mentioned in Psalm 37:40 is the same deliverance that Paul proclaims at the end of Romans 7:25

Again, I admit this message brushed through the Psalm rather quickly, so I urge you to reread Psalm 37 closely in your studies. If you have issues with contentment or anxiety, you should read this passage along with Philippians 4. If you want to study further about desires of the flesh and desires of the spirit, you can read this Psalm along with Romans 8. If you want to learn more about the righteousness and salvation that only come from the Lord, read Romans 3.